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A BEAUTIFUL. WELL WATERED, AND FERTILE 
VALLEY, RICH IN MINERAL RESOURCES. 



THE NEW CO-OPERSTi¥E TOWN 

ELIZABETHTON 

WATAUGA VALLEY, 

EAST TENNESSEE. 



PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS 

OF THE 

TOWN SITE, IRON ORE, GRANITE, AND TIMBER 
LANDS PURCHASED BY THE 

Co-Operative Town Company 

'' OF TENNESSEE. 



THE FIRST STRICTLY CO-OPERATIVE TOWN 

ENTERPRISE EVER ORGANIZED IN 

THE UNITED STATES. 



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7^ BEAUTIFUL. WELL WATERED, AND FERTILE 
VALLEY, RICH IN MINERAL RESOURCES. 



THE NEW CO-OPERHTIYE TOWN 

ELIZABETHTON 

WATAUGA VALLEY, 

EAST TENNESSEE. 



PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS 

OF THE 

TOWN SITE, IRON ORE, GRANITE, AND TIMBER 
LANDS PURCHASED BY THE 

Co-Operative Town Company 

'' OF TENNESSEE. 



THE FIRST STRICTLY CO-OPERATIVE TOWN 

ENTERPRISE EVER ORGANIZED IN 

THE UNITED STATES. 



♦♦ 



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THE CO-OPERATIVE TOWN COMPANY 

OF TENNESSEE. 

Knoxville, Tenn. Atlantic Building, Washington, D. C. 



AUTHORIZED CAPITAL STOCK 


- 


$10,000,000 


26,000 Sbres of Stock Sold to Over 


1.600 Siiarclioldcrs in 


Nearly Every 


State and Territory. 



XDII^:Eca?o:E^s : 

ROBERT p. PORTER, Superiuteudent of Census, President. 

JOHN G. CARIvISIvE, U. S. Senator (Ky.) S. M. JOHNSON, Gen'l Man. of 
ISHAM G. HARRIS, U. S. Senator (Tenn.) S. B. & L. A. (Tenn.) 

H. C. HANSBROUGH, U. S. Senator (N. D.) AUGUSTINE DAVIS, Chicago, 
BENJ. BUTTERWORTH, Sec'y and Solicitor- (Illinois. ) 

General of the World's Fair (Ohio). B. A. JENKINS, Pres. Tenn. Coal 
LOUIS E. McCOMAS (Maryland). Mining Co. (Tenn.) 

AIvEX. T. BRITTON, Pres. American Security WILLIAM T. LOVE (Tenn.) 

and Trust Co. (Washington, D. C.) 

AMERICAN SECURITY AND TRUST CO., Washington, D. C. 



All checks should be made payable to the Co-operative Tow^n Co. and 
mailed to Washington, D. C. 



The Co-operative Town Company has been formed, with an office at Knoxville, 
Tenn., and the Executive Office at Washington, D. C, for the purpose of build- 
ing a manufacturing city in the highlands of the South, where the climate is 
mild, pleasant, and healthful. 

The central idea of this Company, and in this respect it differs from all other 
enterprises of a similar character, is co-operation. This co-opei-atiou is attained 
by distributing the shares of the Company in small holdings to individuals 
throughout the United States, thus interesting thousands of wide-awake business 
men in the enterprise, all of whom may be counted upon to advertise and work 
for the development of the town in which they have become interested. Sub- 
scriptions for less than 5 shares of stock will not be accepted, nor will the Com- 
panj- issue more than 500 shares to any individual holder, the idea being to 
distribute the stock as widely as possible. 



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/ NEW COOPERATIVE 
^ / TOWN 

ELIZABETHTON 



Watauga Valley 



f^aif-Fioads in construction 

Marion 

'\ f Modern 3/as/ Furnaces 

(19X75) 



PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS. 



As alread\' announced in the newspapers, the directors of the 
Co-operative Town Company have decided to locate the new indus- 
trial town in the celebrated Watauga valley, on the Watauga and 
Doe rivers. The company purchased its town-site property direct 
from the original owners in small tracts, and not from a syndicate, 
thereby avoiding middle profits and commissions, but involving 
much more labor and care in examining titles and completing sales. 
Several weeks will therefore elapse before it will be possible to pub- 
lish the elaborate prospectus of this property now in preparation. 
The forthcoming prospectus will contain full reports, by experts, of 
the property purchased, precise maps showing the location of the 
twent}^ thousand acres of laud to be included in the purchase, 
careful plats and accurate surveys of the town-site properties, dia- 
grams showing the geological and topographical formation of the 
surrounding country, geographical charts and maps showing the 
location of the company's property, the railroads centering thereon 
and adjacent, together with a series of beautiful illustrations indic- 
ative of some of the natural beauties of the Watauga valley. The 
completion of this work, and closing up the several purchases of 
land, will necessarily take some little time. 

For the immediate information of our 1,600 stockholders and for 
thousands of prospective investors in all parts of the country who 
are making inquiries about the enterprise, the present preliminary 
circular is issued. ^ 

Most eminent experts consulted. 

In the selection of the site and the purchase of the land neces- 
sary for such an enterprise the most eminent experts in the country 
have been consulted and the situation studied from all standpoints. 
The directors believe they have secured a site that fulfills every 
promise made the stockholders in the prospectus; it iar located in 
the Watauga valley, rich in agricultural and mineral resources; it 
is in the immediate vicinity of ample supplies of timber, cotton, 
iron, coal, granite, and limestone; the surrounding fields produce 
rich crops of wheat, corn, and other cereals, and the meadows are 
well supplied with superior cattle and slieep. Two clear and beau- 
tiful rivers form a junction on the comj)any's property, and, together 
with numerous mountain streams and creeks, assure to the inhab- 

(3 



itants of the city a supply of pure water that cannot be excelled. 
The location is healthful and picturesque, the valley being fully 
1,500 feet above the level of the sea and surrounded by mountains 
and hills, whose dark-blue tops tower high up into the clouds. 

In addition to upward of 5,000 acres of town-site lands it was 
also decided to purchase 15,000 acres of iron ore, granite, and tim- 
ber lands in the immediate vicinity, making in all over 20,000 
acres, and covering what is conceded to be the richest mineral por- 
tion of the valley and a section in which experts claim, after care- 
ful investigation, Bessemer and the highest grades of steel can be 
manufactured cheaper than in any other part of the United States. 
The ore lands purchased by the company are rich in brown hema- 
tite to supplement the famous cranberry Bessemer steel ores which 
are located directly above the town site. 

The delay in making the location was, as above stated, in part 
due to the fact that the land has been purchased direct from a large 
number of owners, and in part to the great care exercised in exam- 
ining at least thirty sites in eastern Tennessee alone. The directors 
of the company have given their personal attention to an examina- 
tion of each of these sites, and in reaching the decision as to the 
Watauga valley are tlioroughly convinced that no better selection 
could be made for manufacturing, commercial, and resident pur- 
poses. There is within the limits of the town site alone four to five 
miles of superior water-power, and Little Stony creek, also on the 
company's property, will supply an endless quantit}'^ of water for 
domestic uses. 

Railroad facilities. 

In addition to the road already in operation, which connects the 
company's property with important railroad systems, several new 
railroads are in course of completion. Roads already graded and 
partly laid will connect direct with the Norfolk and Western R. R., 
the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia R. R., and the Charleston, 
Cincinnati and Chicago R. R. to the coal-fields of Big Stone Gap. 
The Bristol, Elizabethton and N. C. railroad will have cars run- 
ning befora the year closes. Other divisions of this railroad have 
been projected and will undoubtedly be built, running to Ashe- 
ville, N.C.; Erwin,Tenn.; Embreeville, Tenn., and Mountain City. 
The completion of the Watauga Valley branch of the railroad alread}'' 
built to Wilkesboro', N. C, a distance of about 60 miles, will open 
the way from this locality to the Richmond and Danville system 
direct east or to the coast, with Norfolk, Va.; Wilmington, N. C, or 
Charleston, S. C, as objective points. 



The accompanying map shows at a glance the actual and pros- 
pective advantages of this site in respect of railroads. From Eliza- 
bethton the Mountain City division of the Bristol, Elizabethton and 
N. C. railroad will run eastward up the beautiful Watauga valley 22 
miles, to the mouth of Roan creek, and thence up the valley of 
Roan creek along the base of Doe mountain eighteen miles to Mount- 
ain City, which is to be the present terminal point, and making 
Elizabethton the principal and most convenient trading point for a 
territory consisting of four or five counties. The resources of the 
long and fertile valley between Elizabethton and Mountain City are 
many and varied, and as the country is populous a profitable trade 
is certain to spring up if proper encouragement, in the shape of good 
stores and large stocks, is offered. This valley is bounded on the 
north by the "Iron" and " Doe " mountains, and on the south by 
the " Stone," the " Elk," and tiie " Roan," all of which are covered 
with virgin forests from their foot-hills to a point from half way 
to two-thirds the way to the summit. 

A dozen advantages. 

Further along it will be shown how this region is regarded by 
the best-known and most reliable experts. The advantages of the 
new location are — 

First. It is in the center of the Bessemer steel ore region of the 
South. 

Second. It is the most beautiful town site in a section of east Ten- 
nessee beginning at Bristol and ending beyond Johnson Cit}^ and 
Embreeville, which is bound to become the great steel-producing 
district of the South. 

Third. The surrounding country abounds in iron ores that must 
be obtained in order to supply eighteen large modern blast furnaces 
in this mineral belt, some of which cannot go into blast until the 
Briston, Elizabethton and North Carolina railroad to Doe Mountain 
is completed. Every ton of this ore and of Cranberry ore must pass 
through Elizabethton. 

Fourth. It is advantageously located for railroads. The direct 
connection with the main line of East Tennessee, Virginia and 
Georgia railroad, and Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago railroad 
will be supplemented this year by tiie completion of the Bristol, 
Elizabethton and North Carolina railroad, which connects with the 
Norfolk and Western, the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia, 
and the South Atlantic and Ohio railroads. 



6 

Fifth. The site is well adapted for economical grading and lajnng 
out and is easy of railway access. 

Sixth. It has abundant water supply and a water power for manu- 
facturing purposes and for electric power unequaled in any city of 
the South. 

Seventh. Excellent natural drainage, pure air, and superb cli- 
mate. 

Eighth. Plenty of room for a large, handsome, well-planned town, 
such as the Co-operative Town Company proposes to build. 

Ninth. Positively the best sites in the South for the establishment 
of diversified manufacturing. Good water, cheap coal, coke, and 
pig-iron, and splendid distributing facilities North, South, or West. 

Tenth. An opportunity to grasp the entire trade of the long and 
fertile Watauga valley, in which the Bristol, Elizabethton and North 
Carolina railroad is being pushed eastward and southward through 
the newly developed valle}'' to Erwin and Embreeville. 

Eleventh. The most picturesque spot in all the South to build 
cheap and beautiful homes for comfort and for health. The town 
site abounds in numerous advantages for workmen's houses. There 
is abundant limestone and fine granite quarries. 

Twelfth. A surrounding country that is rich in all agricultural 
products and inhabited by a sturdy, honest, and thrifty population, 
eager to do their share in developing the wonderful resources of this 
magnificent valley. 

With these advantages and with the most favorable reports of ex- 
perts the directors of the Co-operative Town Company believe they 
have secured a site and [»urchased mineral lands susceptible of such 
development as will at once make the enterprise exceptionally suc- 
cessful. No statement in relation to the investment has ever been 
made that cannot be verified by the official reports of the best-known 
experts. The directors have given their personal attention to the 
company's business in accordance with the original pledge, and will 
continue to do so. The reason for locating in the Watauga valley 
may be found in the dozen advantages given above, but it may be de- 
scribed more pointedly by this statement. The directors were satis- 
fied that this is the steel-ore-producing district of the South ; that 
eighteen large modern blast furnaces must depend upon this region 
for their suppl}^ of iron ore. Some of these furnaces have not 3'^et 
gone into blast. A glance at the map in this prospectus will show 
seven of the large furnaces referred to and the small furnace at 
Cranberry. Including this furnace, there are no less than nineteen 



furnaces in this district of East Tennessee and the Roanoke district, 
Virginia. Of this number three are located at Roanoke, one at 
Radford, two at Pulaski, one at Pocahontas, one at Max Meadows, 
one at Bristol, two at Big Stone Gap, three at Cumberland Gap, one 
at Corrytown, two at Embreeville, and one at Johnson City. The 
primary development therefore will be iron ore, but steel-making 
will follow, and here the company hope to locate one of the newest 
and best equipped steel plants in the South ; also a paper mill for 
the manufacture of the higher grades of paper; also a number of 
other smaller plants. 

The executive committee has been authorized to advertise for 
proposals for buildings and other improvements as soon as all the 
titles have been passed upon and the purchase finally ratified. 

That the directors are justified in their belief in this district may 
be seen from the following extracts from expert reports: 

A beautiful location. 

Speaking of the town site, Mr. Henry B. C. Nitze, E. M., assistant 
State geologist of North Carolina and one of the Co-operative Town 
Company's most trusted experts, says : "This property consists of 
about 10,000 acres situated in the Watauga valley at the junction of 
the Doe and Watauga rivers, about ten miles east of Johnson City, 
on the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina railroad. The 
location and the surrounding country are the most beautiful I have 
ever seen. The town site takes in both the Doe and Watauga val- 
leys, about five miles in length, separated by the Lynn mountain. 
The width of each of these valleys is from two to two and a half 
miles; at the extremities of Lynn mountain tiie\' are connected by 
transverse valleys, thus forming a large circular area with Lynn 
mountain in the center. The land is gently sloping toward the 
rivers, affording excellent drainage. Abundant pure water supply 
and power can be had for all manufacturing and drinking purposes. 
Here are some of the advantages : 

Railroads and other advantages. 

" 1. Site well adapted for economical grading and la3'ing out. 

" 2. Abundant water supply and power. 

" 3. Excellent drainage. 

"4. Plenty of room for a large well-planned town. 

" 5. Admirable manufacturing site. 

" As to railroad facilities at this point, I will further state that the 
Bristol, Elizabethton and North Carolina railroad is graded from 
Bristol to Elizabethton, 21 miles in length, and that 45 miles of 



8 

iron are bought and ready to be laid, and it is expected that trains 
will be running before the close of the year. At Elizabethton this road 
is expected to fork, one branch going to Mountain City, in Johnson 
county, passing through the brown hematite ore region, and the 
other to Asheville, N. C, thus giving a through line south and 
north. I am given to understand that the " Watauga Valley rail- 
road " above described is under control of the East Tennessee, Vir- 
ginia & Georgia railroad, and that surveys have been made to ex- 
tend this line up the Watauga valle3% crossing the North Carolina 
mountains to connect with the Richmond and Danville at Wilkes- 
boro', N. C, thus giving a through line east. The Cumberland Gap 
railroad expects to reach the East Tennessee brown hematite and 
the Cranberry magnetic ore fields by the way of Morristown, Em- 
breeville, Erwin, and Elizabetiiton, thus giving a fourth feeder and 
a western outlet. 

Manufacture of Bessemer steel. 

"In conclusion of this section, I wish to dwell upon the most im- 
portant fact that here in the East Tennessee valley, between the 
famous Cranberry zone of iron ore and the rich coking fields of 
southwest Virginia and Kentucks\ Bessemer steel can be man- 
ufactured AT A LOWER COST THAN IN ANY OTHER DISTRICT OP 

THE United States. 

" The Cranberry ores are the only Bessemer ores in the South, and 
the Kentucky and Virginia coal-fields produce the richest coke in 
the South. The section under consideration will be accessible to 
four of these coke districts, viz : 

" 1. Pocahontas, via the Norfolk and Western railroad. 

" 2. That part of the Virginia field reached by the C, C, C. R. R., 
when completed. 

" 3. Big Stone Gap, via the South Atlantic and Ohio Railroad. 

"4. The Middlesborough, Ky., district. 

The adjacent coal district. 

" The Big Stone Gap coke is nearest to Elizabethton, the distance 
being about 90 miles." 

There I had the pleasure of looking at the finest seam of coking 
coal I have ever seen. It is in fact an ideal seam. I refer to the 
mine opening of the " Virginia Coal and Iron Co.," situated about 
8 miles north of Big Stone Gap, on Callahan's creek. The main 
entry, which is 450 long, shows a regular compact seam of clear 
coal, without any sign of parting, which I measured 6 feet 4 
inches in thickness, having an excellent sustaining roof. There are 
several other workable seams on the property. This company owns 



9 

100,000 acres of coal area in one bod}', which lies exceedingly favor- 
ably for mining purposes in every respect. It is accessible to both 
the L. & N. R. R. and the South Atlantic and Ohio railroad. The 
property is being developed systematically with a view to a large 
output in the near future. 

Below is an analysis of this coal by Prof. A. S. McCreath : 

Fixed carbon. 60.591 fo 

Volatile matter 35.920 

Ash 1.515 

Sulphur 0.59-4 

Two analyses by Prof. McCreath of the coke made from tiiis coal 
show : 

Water 0.068 0.322% 

Volatile matter 0.5()4 1.404 

Fixed carbon 94.040 93.803 

Sulphur 0.588 0.621 

Ash 4.740 3.850 

100.000 100.000% 

It is extremely low in both sulphur and ash and high in carbon. 
Chemically it surpasses both Connellville and Pocahontas coke. Its 
physical structure is very good, being better than that of Pocahontas 
coke. 

The following comparative table will show its superiority over 
other standard cokes: 

Carbon. Ash. Sulphur. 

Connellville, Pa 88.96, 9.74 0.810 

Chattanooga, Tenn 80.51 16.34 1.595 

Birmingham, Ala. 87.29 10.54 1.195 

Pocahontas, Va 92.55 5.74 597 

New River, W. Va 92.-38 7.21 0.552 

Big Stone Gap, Va 93.80 3.85 0.621 

On Rooney's creek the S. A. & 0. R. R. Co. is opening up a 14- 
foot seam of coal, and, in general, a great deal of preliminary pros- 
pecting and development is going on throughout the section. 

At Norton, the junction of the N. & W. R. R., 14 miles northeast 
from Big Stone Gap, I saw two seams of coal, the " Lower Banner " 
measuring 6 feet, with a parting of 3 inches, and the " Imboden " 
seam showing 10 feet 4 inches, with a parting of about 7 inches. 

At Takoraa, 6| miles from Norton, on the N. & W. R. R., five 
workable seams have been located. 

Some analyses of tliis coke by Messrs. Porter & Goings, Cincinnati, 
Ohio, furnished me by Mr. Geo. C. Potts, show : 

Name of seam. Carbon. Ash. Sulphur. 

Jawbone 91.45 7.52 1.027 

Imboden 93.07 5.77 .918 

Widow Kennedy 93-73 4.58 1.098 

Lower Banner.1 89.25 8.77 1.160 

Upper Banner 90.14 8.55 1.145 



10 



Cost of making Bessemer steel. 

With such competition I believe that ultimately this coke can be 
laid down at Elizabethton for $2.50 per ton. 

" I make the following estimate for producing Bessemer pig-iron 
on the town site purchased by the Co-operative Town Company : 

Coke, 1^ tons at $2.75 ___ __ $3 44 

Ore, 2| tons, at $2.50 5 50 

Limestone 30 

Labor 1 50 

General expenses 41 

Salaries ■_ 20 

Contingent 30 

Total cost per ton $11 65 

" This is a conservative estimate. The price I give for the ore 
allows a good profit on mining. The labor, expenses, salary, and 
contingent items are those of the Birmingham district, and will 
apply here. 

" Estimating the average cost of converting the pig-iron into steel 
rails at $10 per ton, we have less than $22 per ton for total cost 
of making steel rails, which will control the supply of the Southern 
markets. 

Low freight rates. 

" Mr. Edwin Fitzgerald, general traffic manager of the East Ten- 
nessee, Virginia and Georgia railroad, has informed me that on the 
Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville and all western 
points east of a line drawn through the above points, the rate for 
pig-iron from Johnson City and vicinity will be the same as from 
Birmingham, Ala. To eastern points the rates on pig-iron from 
Johnson Cit}'^ and vicinit}' are 50 cents per ton lower than from 
Chattanooga. The section is thus placed on a competing basis with 
all other Southern iron districts." 

More than ever impressed. 

In concluding his second report for the Co-operative Tovv-n Com- 
pany in this vicinity, Mr. Nitze says: 

" In conclusion, I would say that since m}'' second visit to this 
section of east Tennessee I am more than ever impressed with its 
value and magnitude as an ore region. Though as yet undeveloped, 
it is destined to become in the near future one of the principal 
sources of ore supply for the furnaces of this part of the 
South." 



11 

Professor Proctor speaks of the Watauga valley. 

In this opinion Mr. Nitze is supported by Professor John R. Proc- 
tor, State geologist of Kentuck}^ who has this to say of the Watauga 
Valley region : 

"To the ores immediately contiguous to Big Stone Gap must be 
added the ores so abundant in the older rocks on the southeastern 
side of the great valley in east Tennessee and the ores of western 
North Carolina, for these ores will be smelted from the coke from 
the region under discussion. 

"Above the massive quartzites (Chilhowee of Safford and Pots- 
dam of Eastern geologists) forming the parallel mountains imme- 
diately north of the Great Smokies is a series of argillaceous shales 
intervening between the Chilhowee quartzites and the calciferous 
(Knox dolomite of Safford). These shales are present in the val- 
leys and on the flanks of the mountains extending through this 
part of Tennessee and along the northern base of the Blue Ridge, 
in Virginia, and are — taking them in their entire length — the re- 
pository of the largest deposits of limonite or brown ores and man- 
ganese ore in America. These brown ores have been opened at an 
elevation of several hundred feet above the drainage level, where 
the shales extend high up on the slopes of the mountains, and they 
have been proven to be thick deposits below the drainage level. I 
have a knowledge of these ores in Johnson, Carter, and Unicoi 
counties, Tennessee, in the region drained by branches of the Wa- 
tauga and Nolichucky rivers, and I know of no other rf:gion of 

LIKE EXTENT WHERE THIS ORE IS MORE ABUNDANT OR WHERE THE 

CONDITIONS FOR CHEAP MINING AND DELIVERY ou cars are more fa- 
vorable when the railways now building in some of these valleys 
are completed. The Watauga cuts a pass through the mountains 
and runs north to near Big Moccasin Gap, and on its various 
branches — Stony creek, Roan creek. Doe river. Elk river, and Buf- 
falo creek — are immense deposits of ore. The C, C, C. R. R., now 
being completed from Big Moccasin Gap through Johnson City, 
where it crosses the E. T.,V. & Ga. R.R., and south along the valley 
of Buffalo creek and Indian fork of the Nolichucky river will make 
accessible the ores along the valleys of the above-named streams. 

Analyses of the ores. 

" These ores, from a number of analyses, range from 47 per cent, 
to 60 per cent, in iron and from .019 per cent, to 1.595 per cent, of 
phosphorus, and usually quite low in silica. The well-known 



12 

' Knoxville car-wheel iron' is made from this ore on Stony creek, 
in Carter county, Tenn. Manganiferous iron ores are also abundant 
in this region, and there is every reason to believe that there are 
large deposits of manganese. The greatest deposit of manganese 
j'et found in this country' — the Crimora mine, Virginia — is in these 
ferriferous shales. 

" In the quartzites, outcropping high on the mountains and near 
the base where the streams have cut through, is a thick deposit of 
black limonite, having a metallic or resinous lustre, extending with 
the strike of the rocks northeast and southwest. This ore will yield 
from 50 to 55 per cent, of iron, is usually high in phosphorous, but 
low in silica, and will, I think, prove an admirable ore for the pneu- 
matic basic process. It is very abundant in the region under dis- 
cussion." 

The ore lands of the Co-operative Town Company lay in Carter 
county and along Stony creek, Doe river, and Roan Creek placer 
specially mentioned by Professor Proctor. 

Another great authority on this district. 

Professor Henry E. Colton, another good authority, thus refers to 
this ore region : 

" In describing the wonderful deposit of magnetic ore of the Roan 
Mountain district, in quantity beyond reckoning and in all the 
qualities that constitute tiie best steel-making ores, it can be said 
that it has no superior in this country, and I do not hesitate to 
express the belief that when its merit is understood and appreciated 
it will serve to solve the problem that now seems to attach or that 
causes apprehension in the Southern iron production because of the 
alleged inferiority in the quality of the iron produced. This great 
region of magnetic ore must ultimately change the nature of the 
Southern iron production and raise the standard and quality to the 
equal of the highest type of Bessemer iron produced in any district 
of this countr}'. That this is possible cannot be doubted, and it is 
a demonstrable fact that by the location of furnaces convenient to 
this ore and the advantage afforded for obtaining fuel ai minimum 
cost pig-iron can be made for Bessemer purposes at a cost less per 
ton than the same quality of iron can be produced in any section 
of this country." 

Mr. Colton evidently shares in Mr. Nitze's belief that in this dis- 
trict Bessemer ore can be made at a lower cost than elsewhere in 
the United States. 



1 o 

A practical business man's views. 

From the opinions of three scientific men we turn to the opinion 
of CoL Geo. B. Cowlane, a business man of sound judgment and 
great ability : 

"These mountain chains are the highest and most massive east 
of the Rockies. The forests of this region are the finest in America 
in the size of the trees, the density of growth, and the values and 
variety of the timber. The mineral wealth here is equally remark- 
able. The rainfall is large and well distributed throughout the 
year, and it is everywhere so subdivided by the thoroughly mount- 
ainous character of the country as to afford water-power every- 
where, making it a region unsurpassed in the world for large or 
small manufacturing industries. 

Two great mountain ranges. 

" Its topograph}'' is peculiar. Two great main ranges of mount- 
ains comprise its sides. That along its northwestern side is locally 
known, at the upper end, as the Iron mountains; in the center as 
the Great Smoky mountains, and southward as the Unaka mount- 
ains. Its eastern wall is formed by the unbroken granite range of 
the Blue Ridge. Between these main chains and outlying from 
them are numerous minor ranges, ridges, and detached mountains, 
and running across from the eastern to the western main chains are 
numerous cross-ranges, dividing the region into a series of parks. 
The Blue Ridge is everywhere the water-shed, and tiie waters fall- 
ing upon its western slope flow through all minor intermediate 
ridges and through the main western range — though it is higher 
and more massive than the Blue Ridge — into the valley of east 
Tennessee. The Watauga, the Chucky, the French Broad, the 
Pigeon, the Little Tennessee, Hiwassee, and Ocoee rivers, taking 
their rise in the eastern range, flow north and west to the valley, 
opening the way for railways to bring out of these great natural 
storehouses their wealth of magnetic and specular ores — Bessemers — 
their slates, fire-clay, kaolin, talc, fine marbles, manganese, copper, 
mica, corundum, their magnificent timber, and all the wealth that 
shall grow up out of the remarkable conditions for its production 
and manufacture throughout this region and to connect it all with 
the valley and coal-field beyond. 

The coal fields. 

" The wealth of the coal field on the north and the mountain 
country on the south is as surely to be counted in estimating the 



14 

foundation for the growth of wealth in the valley as are the re- 
sources of the valley itself. Tiiey must come into it for concentra- 
tion, across it for exchange. Nowhere else in the world can another 
bod}' of land, thirty or forty thousand square miles in extent, be 
found to equal or approach east Tennessee and the country made 
a part of and tributary to it by inflexible natural laws. 

Not a boom, but solid developments. 

"Heretofore East Tennessee has only been able to talk of what 
she had. She can now begin to talk of what she is doing with it. 
Along the center of the valley from Bristol to Chattanooga every 
town and cit}' is growing rapidly, steadily, solidly. It is not a 
' boom,' but only the beginning of an assured and great growth. 
Along the sides of the valley from the Virginia line to Alabama 
and Georgia, at all the gaps and passes where tiie resources of large 
areas must converge, new towns are springing up. What does it 
all mean? Is it wild speculation and town site ' booms' on a ram- 
page? Not a bit of it ! For years past the resources of this great 
region have been undergoing careful, thorough, systematic investi- 
gation and examination in every point that bears upon their value 
for profitable development. Railroads have been built, others are 
projected and near at hand. The immense forces which in recent 
3'ears have been laying tens of thousands of miles of rail in the 
Northwest are now turning their attention and capital to the South. 
Plans are crystalizing for tlie building of towns, furnaces, factories, 
the opening of mines, for great lumbering operations, for work in 
all ways on a large scale. That is all. Years of preparation are 
bringing their legitimate results, and business and values are mov- 
ing all along the line. The little that has been done so far repre- 
sents but the few scattered drops of the coming shower. There is 

NO DANGER, NO POSSIBILITY EVEN, OF OVERDOING LEGITIMATE BUSI- 
NESS. Other portions of the country have outgrown the market for 
their products. The work here is to create additional markets for 
their surplus, which we will need in exchange for our surplus, 
which they already need, and the building up of the South will not 
only tax our productive energies, but those of the North as well." 

A word about Carter county. 

Carter county, Tennessee, the county in which the new industrial 
city will be built by the Co-operative Town Company, lies in the 
drainage basin of the Tennessee river, between the 3Gth and 37th 
parallels of north latitude and the 82d and 83d meridians of west 
longitude. In the division of the United States by topographic 
features it falls in the Appalachian mountain region. The county 
has an area of 298 square miles and a density of population to the 
square mile of 45. Its elevation above sea level is between 2,000 
and 3,000 feet. It has a mean annual temperature of fifty degrees 
and a mean annual rainfall of sixt}' inches. 



15 

The population of the county has increased from 10,019, in 1880, 
to 13,389, in 1890. Of the population 12,688 are returned by the 
eleventh census as white and only 701 colored. The county con- 
tains no less than 48 public school-houses. The estimated true 
wealth of the county in 1890, as reported by the county clerk, was 
$4,000,000. The people of Carter county are absolutely free from 
debt. There was no county debt, no municipal debt, no school- 
district debt, according to the census of 1890, wiiile the mortgage 
indebtedness of the county, according to the records, only aggregates 
$9 per capita. 

A splendid agricultural country. 

Carter county and the surrounding country is rich in agri- 
culture. 

Taking the statistics as they stand, the number of farms shows a 
satisfactory increase over the number in 1880, but the total area of 
land in farms shows a considerable decrease. Ti)is appears to have 
been almost entirely in natural woodland and forest. The total 
value of land in farms has increased over fifty ner cent., notwith- 
standing the decrease in its extent. The value of live stock shows 
an increase of over thirty per cent., and the value of farm imple- 
ments also shows a large increase. While a m uch smaller amount 
of wood was cut on farms, it seems to have realized more money. 
The acreage in grass and forage crops has more than doubled, and 
its yield has almost trebled. 

Corn held its own, and oats show a considerable increase, both in 
acreage and yield. Sorghum syrup also shows an increase. Wiieat, 
r3'e, and buckwheat show a slight increase. 

An industrial town to be built. 

In the midst of these abundant resources — agricultural, mineral, 
and commercial — for it has been shown that the right sort of enter- 
prise will make the new co-operative town a trading center, and in 
a valley so picturesque and healthful tlie Co-operative Town Com- 
pany will proceed to lay out and develop an industrial city that, so 
far as money and energy can make it, siiall outrank the remarkable 
creations of the last decade. This cit}^ will be laid out by the most 
ca|)able engineers and in accoi-dance with the most modern and 
scientific methods. In short, the funds remaining after the purchase 
of land will be used for this purpose, and great care will be taken to 
apportion the capital and the proceeds from property sales into funds 
for different purposes, such as building, manufactures, railroads, 
street ruilway, light and electric, water works, sewer and conduit, 
park, and other funds, so that the work of developing this city will 
be carried on with some degree of uniformity. 

As realized from stock and from sales of property, all funds, ex- 
cept those used for cash dividends, will be first used for the building 
and development of the town (being used as a banking capital for 
that purpose), to be ultimately returned to the treasurv of the com- 
pany for distribution among the stockholders. 



OCl 27 »900 

16 

Sales of lots. 

Only alternate parcels of lots will be sold at first prices. The re- 
maining lots will be held and sold at such increased prices as the 
management, in view of the development of the town, shall from 
time to time determine. 

Liberal aid for industries. 

Manufacturing plants will be promoted by liberal aid and encour- 
agement. 

Co-operative plants. 

The company, as part of its plan, has a new and improved basis 
for the establishment of co-operative or profit-sharing plants, which 
it believes will greatly assist in building up the manufacturing in- 
terests of the town. 

Homes for mechanics. 

A fund will be created for the building of homes for the employes 
of the factories. Any mechanic, artisan, laborer, or other head of 
a family, wishing a home and unable to build it for himself, can 
purchase of the Company a house and lot or lots suitable to his 
wants witli a small cash payment. These houses will be built by 
the Company. It will purchase all materials and will guarantee 
low-priced, substantial, and well-built houses, such as no individual 
could erect for the money. 

Conservative management 

The funds of this Company will be devoted to the development 
of the city, and the managers pledge themselves to use every possi- 
ble effort to invest it judicioush', and id throw every safeguard 
around it to insure the strictest economy' in expenditure and the 
greatest possible results from the enterprise. 

With immigration tending southward; with illustrations of less 
satisfactory locations for town building developing into important 
centers of industrial energy during the decade just closed; with the 
assurance of sufficient capital and wide-awake co-operation, and 
with a guarantee on the part of the projectors of conservative, 
honest management, we confidently invite the public to participate 
in what we firmly believe will prove both a profitable investment 
and a source of great benefit to the industrial South. 

Now is the time to invest. 

Now is the time to invest in this enterprise, as the selection of the 
site, the establishment of industries, the development of the property, 
and completion of the Bristol and Elizabethton railroad will soon send 
the shares of the company up to par. Every shareholder should 
make it his business to invite his friends to take stock in this enter- 
prise. Every additional subscriber means more money to improve 
the company's property and increase the value of the stock. 

The Co-operative Town Company. 



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